Pioneer Billie Jean King championed equality in women's tennis

Top award – President Barack Obama awarded Bille Jean King the Presidential Medal of Freedom in the East Room of the White House in 2009.

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Rising star – King made her tennis debut back in 1959. Here, competing under her maiden name Moffitt, she plays a forehand volley during her Wimbledon semifinal in 1964.

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Inspiration for a generation – King holds aloft the trophy after beating Ann Jones to win the women's singles title at the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships in 1967.

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Inspiration for a generation – Billie Jean King with Bobby Riggs before the 'Battle of the Sexes' match in 1973.

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Routed Riggs – The 55-year-old Bobby Riggs cuts a forlorn figure as he slips to defeat against King in the famous "Battle of the Sexes" at Houston in 1973.

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Iconic match – Riggs and King embrace after the famous encounter in 1973. King won the match in straight sets.

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Film double – Actress Holly Hunter played King in a special TV film based on the Riggs match, which had a $100,000 winner-takes-all prize.

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Wightman wonders – King was the senior member of a powerful 1978 U.S. Wightman Cup team which also included Chris Evert and Tracey Austin.

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Glittering prizes – King presents Maria Sharapova with a check for $1 million after the Russian superstar won the WTA Championships in 2004 -- beating Serena Wiliams in the final.

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Star gathering – King is joined by Lindsay Davenport, Andy Roddick, Elton John, Serena Williams, Anna Kournikova, Tommy Haas and Jan-Michael Gambill at a World Team Tennis charity day.

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Captain fantastic – King, in her role as captain of the United States Fed Cup team, gives a pep talk to Monica Seles during a 2000 tie against Belgium.

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Happy 40th – WTA founder King is flanked by Sharapova and Williams at a special gathering of former No. 1s to mark the organization's 40th anniversary.

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Story highlights

Billie Jean King is a 12-time grand slam singles champion

American is a famed fighter for equality and women's rights

She was the driving force behind the women's WTA Tour

Founded the same year she beat Bobby Riggs in famous "Battle of the Sexes"

When Serena Williams, winner of this year's women's singles title at the U.S. Open, picked up her check for $2.6 million -- buck for buck the same as the men's champion -- she might well have reflected that, if not for Billie Jean King's pioneering efforts, those riches might not exist.

Supreme champion on the court, battler for equality off it, King took on the male-dominated tennis establishment and won.

She was the driving force behind the formation of the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) in 1973, the same year she famously beat former men's grand slam champion Bobby Riggs in the "Battle of the Sexes" match in Houston.

"Everybody should thank her and shake her hand," King's fellow tennis icon Chris Evert told CNN's Open Court. "She put money in our pockets and provided a living for hundreds and hundreds of female athletes.

"Tennis is the frontrunner in all sports in equality, so she deserves all of the credit."

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Forty years on, King, who turns 70 in November, has been celebrating the WTA's anniversary in a series of events which defined the role of women not just in sport, but in society itself.

The fledgling Virginia Slims tennis circuit for women professionals had been established at the start of the 1970s, but the leading players like King and Australian Margaret Court -- the all-time leading grand slam singles winner -- were still paid a fraction of the prize money available to their male counterparts.

The men had formed their own union -- the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) in 1972 -- and King was convinced it needed to be replicated for women.

Using her famous powers of persuasion, and with help from other key figures such as Dutchwoman Betty Stove, compatriots Rosie Casals and Nancy Ritchey and Britain's Ann Jones, a meeting was convened at the Gloucester Hotel in London, just before the Wimbledon championships.

Within a few short hours, the articles of the association were signed and the WTA was born.

Player power

"We finally all came together as one voice and having the power of one -- you know just one group. It made such a difference," King told CNN.

Martina Navratilova was then just starting out on her incredible career, and it was only later that she appreciated the significance of what had happened.

"My first year playing -- 1973, my first Wimbledon -- I had no idea what the association was, but being American and being a bit older, Billie Jean again had the foresight to get us organized just in time," the Czechoslovakia-born Navratilova told CNN.

King ignored him at first, but Court took up the challenge and played him in a match in California on May 13, 1973.

King had realized the significance of the occasion and had done her best to encourage the Australian to take it seriously.

"I said, 'Margaret it's not a tennis match, it's about social change, it's about social justice, it's about all the things we're working for,' and she goes, 'I don't'. She wasn't politically orientated!

Riggs match

"So Margaret played him Mother's Day in 1973 and lost (6-1 6-2). it's called the Mother's Day massacre and I just thought, 'Oh no!' "

King needed no second bidding, and the famous "Battle of the Sexes" match came to fruition on September 20 in the Houston Astrodome.

"I thought it would set us back 50 years if I didn't win that match," said King. "It would ruin the women's tour and affect the self esteem of all women."

The entrances -- King on a gold litter in the style of Cleopatra, Riggs on a rickshaw pulled by women models in skimpy outfits -- added to the theater.

Once the match started, King, at 29 and the peak of her powers, made her opponent eat his earlier words and boasts.

With a winner-take-all $100,000 check riding on the outcome, Riggs lost his nerve and was beaten 6-4 6-3 6-3.

Bartoli calls it quits 8 photos

Bartoli calls it quits8 photos

Ends in tears – Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli made a shock decision to quit tennis after losing her opening match at the Cincinnati Open on August 14.

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Bartoli calls it quits8 photos

Grand slam champion – The announcement came just six weeks after the Frenchwoman won her first grand slam title at Wimbledon.

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Bartoli calls it quits8 photos

'Pain everywhere' – The 28-year-old, who rose to seventh in the world rankings with her breakthrough triumph, told reporters at the U.S. Open warmup tournament that her body could no longer cope with the stress of touring life.

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Bartoli calls it quits8 photos

Marion's mentors – Bartoli celebrated her Wimbledon win with her father Walter, who was her coach for over 20 years before she began working with former world No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo (right).

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Twice as nice – Walter encouraged his daughter to adopt a two-handed playing style as a child after being inspired by the success of Monica Seles.

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Bartoli calls it quits8 photos

Serving up success – Bartoli, who never had professional coaching, also developed a distinctive serving style. She reached the semifinals on the red clay of Roland Garros at the 2011 French Open.

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Solid performer – She reached the quarterfinals of the 2012 U.S. Open, and the same stage of the Australian Open in 2009.

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Great on grass – But it was Wimbledon where Bartoli made her name, losing in the 2007 final against Venus Williams (right) on the hallowed grass courts of the All-England Club.

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Title IX Impact and Influence 8 photos

Title IX Impact and Influence 8 photos

Children of Title IX – This summer marks the 41st anniversary of Title IX, the federal civil rights law that banned discrimination based on gender in federally funded education. "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance," it states. Title IX is 37 words, and 41 years later, it continues to affect education opportunity, greater participation of women in athletics and equal opportunity in learning environments. Learn about the women who had a hand in and benefited from Title IX, and how it changed America.

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Title IX Impact and Influence 8 photos

Women's basketball player Pat Summitt, left, is the recently retired, all-time winningest NCAA basketball coach. Her family moved from Clarksville to Henrietta, Tennessee, so she could play on a girls high school basketball team. Both her brothers received athletic scholarships, but she did not in the pre-Title IX era. "When I think of Title IX, the one word that always comes to my mind is 'opportunity,'" Summitt said. "Specifically, it's an opportunity for little girls. As they grow up, if they want to compete in sports then they have that opportunity." By the time the Tennessee Lady Vols coach began coaching WNBA star Candace Parker, female participation in high school sports had dramatically increased.

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Title IX Impact and Influence 8 photos

Barbara Buttrick, left, began boxing when she was 18 years old, in 1948. She was the first woman to have her boxing match broadcast, and she participated in carnivals and circuses before boxing internationally. Today, boxer Marlen Esparza, right, has been a Covergirl and had endorsements. She was featured in Vogue magazine, a CNN documentary, and ESPN the Magazine's body issue. "The Olympics are a celebration of sports, and women should be able to celebrate sports just like men." Due in part to greater acceptance of women and girls playing sports and Title IX, Esparza, and female boxing, made their debut last year at the 2012 Olympics.

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Title IX Impact and Influence 8 photos

When she was 12, American tennis player Billie Jean King knew she wanted to break records and barriers in tennis. "I wanted to be the No. 1 tennis player in the world, and I wanted to use my success to change the face of our society to grant equal rights and opportunities for both men and women." Two years after Title IX, King created the Women's Sports Foundation. Throughout her career, she fought for equal pay in prize money for women. Inspired by King, Venus Williams later picked up the torch, speaking out about the issue. In 2007, due to their efforts, Wimbledon female and male champions were paid an equal amount.

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Title IX Impact and Influence 8 photos

United States forward Mia Hamm, left, was born the year that Title IX was passed. She played soccer in high school, went on to become the first woman to win FIFA World Player of the Year and was inducted in the National Soccer Hall of Fame. "[T]here is no question that I eventually benefited from the development of women's soccer with my experience at (the University of North Carolina) and the growth of women's soccer in college," she shared about the impact of Title IX. Abby Wambach, right, has since become an international soccer star, and broke Hamm's all time international goal scoring record this year.

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Title IX Impact and Influence 8 photos

Jackie Joyner-Kersee was born 10 years before Title IX. By the time she was in high school, Title IX allowed her to fully participate in high school track and field, where she set a record for the long jump. "Girls were able to practice right after school and we were able to pursue our dreams," she told CNN. She has broken records, won Olympic gold, and Sports Illustrated named her best female athlete of the 20th century. She credits Title IX for paving the way for the historic participation and wins by women in the 2012 Olympics. Kersee was an icon to Olympic gold medalist Allyson Felix, who won three gold medals in the 2012 Olympics.

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Title IX Impact and Influence 8 photos

U.S. Rep. Patsy Takemoto Mink co-authored Title IX, the women's educational equity act. Her daughter, Wendy Mink, became a professor, author and activist. In 2002, when Mink died, Title IX was renamed the Patsy Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act. "I never had in my dreams and expectation ... that it would change entirely the notion of careers for women," Patsy Mink said in a documentary about her life.

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Title IX Impact and Influence 8 photos

Title IX also affect the environment of educational institutions, linking sexual harassment as a form discrimination against women in schools. Catharine Mackinnon, left, was a sexual harassment pioneer credited with linking sexual harassment as a form of sex discrimination. While she was at Yale Law school, she wrote a paper on sexual harassment, which later became a publication. Her writing influenced legal theory, and she was an adviser to students in Alexander v. Yale, the first case to test Title IX for sexual discrimination. More than 30 years later, her scholarship is still having an impact. In 2011, students, including Hannah Zeavin, right, charged Yale with being a sexually hostile place under Title IX. They later settled the charges.

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EXPAND GALLERY

Iconic moment

"The drop shot and volley heard around the world," said Britain's Times newspaper as an estimated global TV audience of 50 million watched the rout.

King and Riggs embraced at the end, and became friends off the court until his death in 1995 of prostate cancer.

Prior to the WTA's formation, King had realized the significance of legislation passed through the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives and signed into law by President Richard Nixon in June 1972.

Title IX made it a requirement under law for male and female students to be afforded equal federal funding in their high school and college studies.

"Before that, young women were not getting anything, there was gender quotas -- like 5% in the medical school at Harvard -- there were really terrible gender quotas and also women could not get an athletic scholarship in the States," said King.

"Now because of Title IX, women from all over the world can go to our American colleges on a scholarship and get grants. It's very powerful because it's about equality in education and activities, and sports comes under activities."

Quantum leap

According to 18-time grand slam singles winner Navratilova, King took advantage of the mood of the moment to push through changes which were ahead of their time.

"Billie Jean, she just pushed the clock forward, she sped up the process," Navratilova said.

"Any progress is measured by jumps, and that was one of those jumps that pushed the clock forward and allowed us to move forward as women athletes and to make a career out of it so it wasn't just a hobby. "

King was to play competitive singles for 10 more years after her 1973 heroics on and off the court, but injuries took their toll.

Her final grand slam singles triumph came at Wimbledon in 1975, her sixth success on the grass at SW19, but victory in the women's doubles at the 1980 U.S. Open competed her set of 39 major titles overall.

A firm believer in the team ethic, she played for and captained the U.S. in the Wightman and Federation Cup competitions, while King and her husband Larry were founding partners of World Team Tennis in 1974.

Team ethic

The format of that competition sees men and women playing a five-set competition in a mix of singles, doubles and mixed doubles.

It has proved a successful formula, with the franchises playing to big crowds across the United States.

For King, the whole ethos of the event sums up her attitude to life and equality.

"That's the way I want the world to look: men and women working together, championing each other, helping each other, promoting each other -- we're all in this world together," she said.

The fight she started for equal prize money in the grand slams took 34 years to reach its fruition when Wimbledon became the last of the four to fall into line in 2007.

"I remember the fight for prize money, I remember how many meetings were set, how many battles we had, and we all seemed to have stood by what we believed was right," Maria Sharapova told CNN when a unique meeting of former No. 1s gathered at Wimbledon to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the WTA.

Sharapova, who has become the highest earning female athlete in the world, acknowledged that she and the current leading players owe a lot to King.

Grateful thanks

"She had a big role obviously, there is a lot to be grateful for," she said.

King shows no sign of slowing up, with her commitments to World Team Tennis and various foundations.

In 2009, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and found out that President Barack Obama was a fan of hers from time she spent in Hawaii when he was young.

"It's funny because he actually watched me practice at his high school. He told me when I met him for the first time," added King, who was honored for her work advocating for the rights of women and the lesbian and gay community.

She was divorced from Larry King in 1987 and her current partner Ilana Kloss is a former professional on the WTA Tour.

Life's goals

Even as a precocious teenager on the public courts of Long Beach in California in the late 1950s, King had decided her priorities.

"I had an epiphany about our sport. I really wanted to spend the rest of my life fighting for equal rights and opportunities for boys and girls, men and women," said King.

"I always knew if I could ever be No. 1 in tennis, I'd have a platform."

King has used that platform to great effect and the current No. 1, Serena Williams, remains her biggest fan.